Computers are Down - Now What?

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I hate to tell you this but in our job, as administrative assistants, the computers all going down is not an excuse to go home for the day!  In fact, this is a great time to get caught up on some of those things that tend to get put on the backburner - sometimes for too long.  There are always things to do and managers appreciate it when they don't have to find things to keep their employees busy in times like this.

So, what can you do?

• Organize your files - filing is something that you should be keeping up to date on anyway but if they computers are down this could be an excellent time to get ahead on some of your work.  It would also be a good time to make sure that everything is filed properly and do a little cleaning.  If you have a long day ahead of you, you could start a larger project like moving outdated files into the archives.
• Clean your desk - I don't know about you but desk clutter builds really fast in my world and I usually schedule some time to take care of it.  But if a manager needs something asap or a project is behind, cleaning my desk usually gets put aside.  So, take the time to clean up, get rid of things, and set aside things that should go home or should be somewhere else.
• Check supplies - there are so many things you keep track of that it is easy to get behind on inventory, so even if your on schedule, take some time to do some inventory checks.  
• Brainstorm - got a project coming up?  Do some brainstorming before you first big meeting.  Brainstorming is often easier to do on paper anyway so take up some space on your desk and put your thinking cap on.
• Do some cleaning - the office always needs to be clean and although most offices have cleaners that come in after hours it always seems like something is missed. So, take care of it then.

The bottom line is that you should never have nothing to do - even if the computers are down - so get busy with some of those non-computer related tasks and your boss is sure to notice!